Off Clarence drive istr Lauder Dale Gardens also a bomb site (reputedly a "landmine") -- post war the site near the tenis courts was occupied for many years by a branch of Melvin Motors as a show room and adjacent stock compound..

Colonel Melvin founder of Melvin Motors (which was in fact owned by the Rootes Group and more recently Pegueot) was the designer of the gearbox on the Churchill tank.

Kentigern wrote:I was born in 1359 Argyle St and I understand that the site of the petrol station on Old Dumbarton/Argyle was a tenement that was flattened by a "lost" bomber who then continued to straffe Kelvin Way with his unwanted payload.

This is St Enoch's Free Church which was on the site now occupied by the BP garage. It was demolished due to wartime bomb damage. The tenement just visable in the left of the picture still exists on Old Dumbarton Road but that doesn't mean that those on the Argyle St side weren't affected by the bombing. It's the only picture I've ever managed to find of the church. Magnificent tower...

The petrol station is not much longer for this world either. This is what's coming. An improvement on the current occupant certainly, but not a patch on what used to be there...

I had a very interesting read of your postings here PJ. Imagine an unexploded WWII bomb having gone all that time, 61 years or so, without having been discovered... and of course without having exploded! Disoveries like this make one wonder just how many unexploded bombs and mines are lurking in the waters of the Clyde.

You're not getting the hang of this name thing at all, are you Dugald? ::):

Thanks for pointing out my second error Josef. Ach, ahm always like this on a Tuesday! What am I to do? I just wish people could go back to the world of Tom, Dick, and Harry. Let me see now, the name should have been Pk, oopsno, it's PG... nah, it's Potatojunkie ... isn't it? What's that, it's not Potatojunkie it's Junkcatcher. Sorry Junkcatcher, it happens. Cheers.

A few years back durring my time living on Cumbrae the RN ordinance disposal team used to be pretty frequent visitors, I think a lot of the stuff they were called out for was harmless modern stuff sonobouys, marker floats and the like but the odd bit of WW2 ordinance turned up. They used to sometimes blow stuff up round the back of the island near the hush-Hush

I suspect sometimes they missed the last ferry and had a good night in the George in Millport.

Yes, I've seen quite a lot of these scenes from the Clydeside Blitz before Sharon, but I'm glad they keep appearing every now and then. As well as serving to remind those among us who have seen them all before, of what happened during those dreadful years, it also brings them to the attention of the younger ones among us who perhaps, know little about these years. The despair written across the face of the rather well-dressed woman in the third picture for example, might lead one to wonder what her thoughts were at that very moment as she waited, clutching her own hands... a kettle, a pair of well-worn shoes, rest atop a large suitcase... common-place articles telling something of a moment in Clydeside history.

I have read this thread with great interest and I'm glad to see that someone else has found the BBC 'peoples memories' site.

Three years ago, we took my parents to Blackpool for a long weekend. They were both in their late seventies at that time. While we were there, we found out that the Victoria Baths in Manchester (featured on Restoraton, Restoration) were having an open weekend, so we went along.

While there, my parents were both interviewed by a lady from the BBC team about their wartime experiences. My mother's story was judged interesting enough to be included, but my father's story of defending Dixon's Blazes and the South Side of the Clyde from German bombers was not. I can only assume that the person gathering the histories did not understand the importance of keeping bombs away from that site. Or maybe they had heard many similar stories.

Unfortunately, the gunners success probably caused more bombs to be dropped on the very areas where many are still being found even now.

If anyone has personal experiences of the WW2 experience in Glasgow, you might be interested in a university recollections and memorabelia archive project on Glasgow's experience. If you PM me I will pass on the project manager's contact details.